The young man and the Ku’staka’

A skeptical young Tlingit man, disbelieving in the existence of the Ku’staka’ (mythical shape-shifters), camped alone and taunted them. One night, he encountered these beings, rendering him unconscious and attempting to extinguish his fire. Upon awakening, he found his gun missing, only to later discover it far from his camp. This experience instilled in him a profound belief and fear of the Ku’staka’.

Source:
Tahltan Tales
by James A. Teit
The American Folklore Society
Journal of American Folklore
Vol.32, No.124, pp.198-250
April-June, 1917
Vol.34, No.133, pp.223-253
July-September, 1921
Vol.34, No.134, pp.335-356
October-December, 1921

► Themes of the story

Supernatural Beings: The narrative centers around the young man’s encounter with the Ku’staka’, entities with supernatural abilities.

Cunning and Deception: The Ku’staka’ employ tactics to disorient and overpower the young man, such as rendering him unconscious and relocating his belongings.

Transformation: The protagonist undergoes a significant change in belief, shifting from skepticism to fear and belief in the supernatural.

► From the same Region or People

North America
- Sub-Arctic Region
  - Tahltan Lore

Learn more about Tahltan people

There was a young Tlingit who did not believe in Ku’staka’. He was not afraid; and when he camped alone, he called to them, and said, “You cannot harm me.” One night when he was camped alone, he heard noises. He started a large fire, and lay down beside it with his gun loaded. He saw a Ku’staka’, and was going to shoot at it; but the being saw him, and he became unable to pull the trigger. Afterwards he was so affected by its influence that he became unconscious. Then the Ku’staka’ tried to put out the fire by throwing snow on it, but did not succeed. After a while the youth awoke. He saw another Ku’staka’. He tried to shoot it, but, as before, the trigger would not pull. Again he became unconscious, and they tried to put out the fire, but it was too hot. When he woke up again, his gun was gone. When daylight came, he called loudly, asking the Ku’staka’ to return his gun. They never answered.

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He heard no sounds, saw no one, and could see no tracks. He started for home, where the people were. The trail passed through a narrow defile between hills. Here he saw a stump with his gun leaning up against it. This place was a long way from his camp. After that the young man believed in Ku’staka’, and was afraid of them. [These events are said to have happened lately, since guns were introduced.]

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The woman taken by the Ku’staka’

A woman, fearing enemy attacks, hides her children in the woods but never returns. Her husband finds the children but not his wife. She had been taken by a Ku’staka’ (a mythical being) and remained under its influence for two months. Eventually, she is found living alone and is reunited with her family, leading to a celebratory potlatch.

► Themes of the story

Supernatural Beings: The Ku’staka’ is a mythical entity that interacts with the human world by abducting the woman.

Loss and Renewal: The community experiences the loss of the woman and later her unexpected return, symbolizing a cycle of loss and renewal.

Conflict with Nature: The woman’s survival in the wilderness, living on raw salmon without clothes or fire, highlights a struggle against natural elements.

► From the same Region or People

North America
- Sub-Arctic Region
  - Tahltan Lore

Learn more about Tahltan people

A Wrangel woman was camped with her husband and children. At this time people were afraid of enemies attacking and enslaving them. Her husband was away hunting, and the woman was afraid that their camp might be discovered. She took her children and went into the woods. Here she left her children hidden at the foot of a tree, saying that she had to go back to camp for something she had forgotten. She never came back. The husband came home, and, finding neither wife nor children, looked around for tracks. He followed them, and found his children in the woods. The children told their father that they had heard a noise, and that their mother had left them to go back to camp for something she had forgotten. The husband found no trace of his wife. He took the children and returned to Wrangel. This happened in the spring-time, about early in May, and at a place about thirty miles from Wrangel.

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The woman had been taken by a Ku’staka’ man, who kept her for about two months. For that time she was under his influence. Finally the Ku’staka’ deserted her, and then she recovered her senses. In summer the people moved camp to a salmon creek. The woman was then on this creek, living on raw salmon. She had no clothes and no fire. One day two young men happened to go up the creek, and saw her. She ran into a hole among the roots of trees. They went to the hole and asked her to come out. She was ashamed because she was naked. The men turned their backs, and one of them took off his shirt and threw it to her. She put it on, and accompanied them in a canoe to Wrangel, where her husband was living. When they came near her husband’s house, they called out that they had recovered his wife, but he would not believe them. Her husband was a rich man. He gave a great potlatch because of his wife’s return, and paid the young men liberally.

The man taken by Ku’staka’

A man quarrels with his wife and encounters a woman resembling her, who leads him to a house. An old woman there reveals it’s the dwelling of the Ku’staka’, malevolent spirits that manipulate minds. Realizing his peril, he escapes but remains mentally affected. Villagers eventually capture and cure him, restoring his sanity.

► Themes of the story

Illusion vs. Reality: The man’s journey highlights the struggle between distinguishing truth from deception, as he grapples with the false reality imposed by the Ku’staka’.

Loss and Renewal: The protagonist experiences a loss of sanity and connection to his world but eventually undergoes a form of renewal as he regains his senses and returns home.

Forbidden Knowledge: The man gains insight into the existence and nature of the Ku’staka’, knowledge that is hidden and perilous, leading to his temporary madness.

► From the same Region or People

North America
- Sub-Arctic Region
  - Tahltan Lore

Learn more about Tahltan people

Ku’staka’ is a kind of spirit being inhabiting certain parts of the country. They are common in the Tlingit country. They place people under their influence, and make them believe what they want. Finally the people become crazy and wander about. People who get lost are subject to their attacks. Some Indians, in speaking English, called them “monkey people.”

Once a Tlingit man had a quarrel with his wife, and went off in the morning without eating. He had forgotten his basket (?), and thought he would make one. He made a cut around a tree low down, and then climbed up to make the upper cut. He wore neither trousers nor leggings. A woman appeared at the foot of the tree, and spoke to him, saying, “Hurry up!” She looked like his wife, and he thought it was she. She said, “What is that I see up there?” and he answered, “These are my testicles.”

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He was losing his mind, but did not know it. He was under the influence of the woman, and came down the tree. He thought the piece of bark or stick that he was carrying down was a finished basket. The woman said, “Let us go home!” He followed her, and after a while they came to a house and went in. The man thought it was his own house. He saw an old woman sitting there. She said to him, “What are you doing here?” He answered, “I have come home. Why do you ask?” She said, “This is not your house. Wake up, and try to go home! This is the house of the Ku’staka’. I am your aunt, and was lost in the woods a long time ago. I cannot go back now, and live here. Do not stay here; for these people are bad, and make people think what is not true.” The man came half to himself, and, looking around, saw that he was in a hole underneath the roots of a tree, and that the place was not at all like his camp. He ran for home, sometimes being crazy, and sometimes sane. He reached the camp, and thought he went in and the people would not talk to him. Instead he acted like the Ku’staka’, and threw stones and sticks at the camp. When the people came out to look, he ran away like a deer. Several nights he did this. At last he fell sound asleep on a large old log. The log was taken by the tide and carried out to sea. People saw it floating about, and thought they saw the body of a man on it. They approached the log noiselessly in canoes, and saw a naked man asleep. They seized and bound him, although he fought violently, like a crazy man. They took him home, and smoked him repeatedly, using dog’s-hair and rotten urine on the fire for the purpose. At last he became quite sane again, and told the people his adventures and how it felt to be possessed.

The woman stolen by the Duci’ne

A Duci’ne man abducts a woman and takes her to his homeland through a perilous canyon. She bears two children who later return to her people, sharing knowledge of the Duci’ne. Following this union, the Duci’ne cease killing intruders, instead turning them away to protect their territory.

► Themes of the story

Forbidden Love: The union between the woman and the Duci’ne man represents a romantic connection defying societal or cultural boundaries.

Cultural Heroes: The children, born from this union, act as foundational figures by bridging two cultures, sharing knowledge, and fostering peace between their mother’s people and the Duci’ne.

Transformation: The narrative showcases a transformation in the Duci’ne’s behavior—from hostile protectors of their territory to a more tolerant group—indicating a significant change in their societal norms.

► From the same Region or People

North America
- Sub-Arctic Region
  - Tahltan Lore

Learn more about Tahltan people

A Duci’ne man stole a woman, and took her to his country. After travelling many days, they came to a canyon, through which they passed. The Duci’ne people had their home at the other end. No strangers ever went through this canyon and returned, for the Duci’ne killed them.

The woman bore two children. Both of them came to live among the people, whom they told all about the country and habits of their father’s people. Their mother never returned from the Duci’ne country.

After this marriage, the Duci’ne did not kill any more people; and any who travelled into the canyon near their country were turned back, and not killed. The Duci’ne kept watchers at the canyon to prevent people going through.

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The shaman and the Duci’ne

A powerful hunter with shamanistic abilities encounters a Duci’ne who attacks him. The hunter remains unharmed, and the Duci’ne, out of arrows, offers to become his protector in exchange for mercy. Following the Duci’ne’s advice, the hunter evades other Duci’ne hunters. When they eventually confront him, he kills them all, demonstrating his superior power.

► Themes of the story

Supernatural Beings: The Duci’ne represents a mythical creature interacting with the human protagonist.

Divine Intervention: The hunter’s shamanistic powers and guardian spirits suggest a connection to higher powers influencing mortal affairs.

Good vs. Evil: The confrontation between the hunter and the Duci’ne, followed by the hunter’s battle against the other Duci’ne, embodies the classic struggle between opposing forces.

► From the same Region or People

North America
- Sub-Arctic Region
  - Tahltan Lore

Learn more about Tahltan people

There was a man who had many strong guardian-spirits. He was a great hunter, and had shamanistic powers. Once when he was hunting, he met a Duci’ne, who attacked him, thinking he would easily kill him. He shot one arrow after another at him; but the man simply shook himself, and the arrows passed by. At last the Duci’ne had no more arrows, and was now at the mercy of the hunter. He said to the latter, “If you spare me, I will be your protector. I shall talk to you, and you will talk to me, and I shall be able to help you.” He said to the man, “Now, to be safe, you must walk in the water of the creek a long distance on the road home; for there are many of my people around here, and, if they find your tracks, they will take your scent and run you down, as dogs do.” The hunter did as directed. When the Duci’ne reached his camp, the other people said he smelled different, and accused him of having killed a man.

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He denied it; but the others would not believe, and put on their moccasins to go hunt up the man. The Duci’ne, who had returned, said, “You will find out that I have spoken the truth, for the man I met is not like other men. He is far more powerful.” They found where the man had made a fire when he talked with the Duci’ne, and where he had taken to the creek. They followed both banks, and at last caught up to him where he had left the water. They shot all their arrows at him, and missed him. The man then killed them all. An old Duci’ne was following up the others to pack in the man’s flesh; but when he came to his dead comrades, he turned back. When he reached camp, the other Duci’ne man said to him, “I told you, and now you see. The man has killed all those who hunted him.”

Origin of Duci’ne

The Duci’ne originated from a boy of evil disposition who killed people. His mother was an Indian woman, and his father unknown. As he grew, he progressed from shooting small animals to eventually killing a dog, for which his mother punished him. After fatally shooting another boy during a game, he fled to the mountains, where he crafted numerous obsidian arrowheads, discarding those he deemed imperfect. The unfinished arrow and spearheads found scattered across the land are believed to be his discarded creations.

► Themes of the story

Transformation: The boy undergoes a significant change from a mischievous child to a wild, malevolent figure isolated from society.

Tragic Flaw: The boy’s inherent violent tendencies lead to his downfall and complete estrangement from his community.

Ancestral Spirits: The boy’s actions and transformation may reflect themes of ancestral influence or the consequences of defying cultural norms.

► From the same Region or People

North America
- Sub-Arctic Region
  - Tahltan Lore

Learn more about Tahltan people

The Duci’ne originated from a boy of evil disposition who killed people. His mother was an Indian woman, and his father unknown. When just a tiny boy, he made arrows. As he grew up, he made the arrows larger and put stone heads on them. He shot first at marks, and then at small animals, such as mice. Later he shot larger animals, and finally a dog. His mother thrashed him for this. After this he made stronger arrows. One day he was playing a shooting-game with other boys, and shot one of them. The people were angry, and blamed the mother for not correcting him and for allowing him to behave badly. The boy ran away, and his mother followed him. She held out her breasts to him, and entreated him to come back, saying, “Come, here are your breasts!” He shot her through the breasts. He became completely wild now, and never returned. He went to the mountains where obsidian is abundant, and made many arrow-heads.

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Whenever he made one which did not suit him, he threw it away. He spent all his spare time making arrow and spear heads. All the unfinished arrow and spear heads found here and there scattered over the country were made by him. They are the “heads” he discarded in his travels around the country and when hunting. He used no flakers of any kind. He flaked the arrow-heads with the palms of his hands, which were of bone.

The hunter and the Duci’ne

A hunter, wary of the Duci’ne—a group of malevolent, semi-cannibalistic beings with shamanistic powers—prepares his family for potential danger. One day, after observing a peculiar fog, he devises a plan to confront the Duci’ne. Through cunning and persistence, he ultimately defeats one of these beings, ensuring his family’s safety.

► Themes of the story

Cunning and Deception: Both the hunter and the Duci’ne employ tactics of stealth and surprise, using deception to gain the upper hand.

Trials and Tribulations: The hunter undergoes a series of challenges in his efforts to defeat the resilient Duci’ne, testing his perseverance and ingenuity.

Moral Lessons: The story imparts lessons on vigilance, the importance of preparedness, and the consequences of underestimating one’s adversaries.

► From the same Region or People

North America
- Sub-Arctic Region
  - Tahltan Lore

Learn more about Tahltan people

Duci’ne or Duce’na are a kind of wild people, partly cannibal, of wicked disposition, believed to inhabit the country, especially to the east. They wear clothes, and look like people. They often sing and dance as they go along. They possess great shamanistic power, and, when hunting in the mountains, conceal themselves in a cloud of down, so that people cannot see them. At a distance the down looks to people just like fog. They are said to cat only the ribs of game they kill. They are good hunters and travellers. At the present day the name is used as a common designation for the Cree Indians.

A man went with his family to trap marmots. He thought Duci’ne people were near. Therefore he told his wife to build the door of their house in the form of a passage, with a recess on one side where a person could hide.

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He said, “If you see a fog travelling on the mountains on a clear day, you may be sure that it is a Duci’ne man.” One clear day after this the man was hunting sheep. He killed one, and brought it home to camp. His wife told him that she had seen the fog that day: so at dusk he asked her to hide with the children in the woods near by, while he would wait in camp. He kept up a large fire, and laid the body of the sheep alongside the fire, and covered it with blankets. About midnight the fire had burned down a little. Then he heard a sound as of some one approaching, and he hid in the recess near the door. Soon a man holding bow and arrows entered, and, seeing what seemed to be a man asleep near the fire, he discharged an arrow into the sheep. At the same moment when he lifted his arms to shoot his bow, the man from the recess shot an arrow into his body below the arm. The Duci’ne ran out, making a noise like a bird flying, and disappeared. The man went out and called on his helper, the snow. Then snow began to fall, and covered the ground. Early in the morning he called his wife and children to camp, and told them he was going after the wounded man. He followed his tracks to a lake, where he came to the Duci’ne in the water, and a loon sucking his wound to heal it. He called on the man to spare him. The man refused, and shot him again; and his body sank in a deep part of the lake. Next morning he saw the Duci’ne afloat again, and the loon sucking his wounds. He shot him again, and this time cut off his head. He put his body in the water at one end of the lake, and his head at the other. The next morning the parts had come together, and the loon was attending to him as before. The man shot him again, and cut his body into small pieces. He carried them around, putting them here and there in different lakes and streams some distance apart. In this way he managed to kill him for good and all.

The man who fooled the cannibal giant

A man argues that giants are foolish and decides to prove it. He stands naked and motionless on a trail frequented by giants. A giant approaches, inspects him thoroughly, but, puzzled by his stillness, concludes he isn’t prey and leaves. The man then returns home, demonstrating that giants can be easily deceived. This story highlights the perceived simplicity of giants in Tahltan folklore.

► Themes of the story

Mythical Creatures: The story features a giant, a mythical being common in various cultural tales.

Cunning and Deception: The man’s strategy involves deceiving the giant by remaining motionless, highlighting the use of wit to achieve his goal.

Moral Lessons: The tale imparts a lesson about the power of intelligence and cunning over brute strength, teaching that even formidable adversaries can be overcome with wit.

► From the same Region or People

North America
- Sub-Arctic Region
  - Tahltan Lore

Learn more about Tahltan people

Some men were disputing as to the powers of cannibals and giants. One of them maintained that giants were not clever. They had mosquito brains: therefore they could easily be deceived. He claimed that giants and cannibals and mosquitoes were all related, parts of the same flesh. They all had the same instinctive desire to attack, kill, and eat people; but nevertheless they were all foolish. This man said he would show the others how foolish giants really were. He would try them. He stripped off all his clothes, and stood naked near a trail that giants frequented, in an open place, where people could see a long way. A giant saw him, and came stealthily towards him. The man stood perfectly rigid and motionless. The giant came up and felt of him, saying to himself, “He is just like game.” He smelled of his mouth, privates, and anus. He smelled of him all over. He lifted his eyelids, and opened his mouth.

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He said again, “He is just like game, but he does not act like game. It is funny that he should be here now. Not long ago there was nothing standing here.” He wondered. He went away some distance and watched the man, but the man never moved. He went farther away and watched. Then he came back and examined the man again. At last he made up his mind that the object could not be game, and departed. When the giant was out of sight, the man put on his clothes and went home. This is why, if a hunter sees game at a distance lying or standing and motionless, he is sometimes deceived, and mistakes the game for something else. When one does this, other people joke him or make fun of him by saying, “You are just the same as a giant,” or “You have mosquito brains.”

The brothers and the giant

Two brothers camp together when the younger pursues forbidden porcupine tracks, leading him to a giant. The giant traps him in a tree, anticipating a meal. The elder brother arrives, deceives the giant into handing over his axe, and kills him. Upon splitting the giant’s head, a swarm of mosquitoes emerges, explaining their origin as descendants of cannibalistic giants.

► Themes of the story

Origin of Things: The story explains the origin of mosquitoes.

Mythical Creatures: The giant represents a mythical being within the tale.

Cunning and Deception: The elder brother’s deceit leads to their victory over the giant.

► From the same Region or People

North America
- Sub-Arctic Region
  - Tahltan Lore

Learn more about Tahltan people

Two brothers were camped together. The younger one went out hunting. Before leaving the camp he was told by the elder one that if he saw small porcupine-tracks, he must not follow them. He forgot, however, and, seeing small porcupine-tracks, followed them. They led to where a giant was, who at once gave chase. The hunter climbed a tree. The giant was glad when he found he had treed the man, and danced and sang around the bottom of the tree at the prospect of a meal. He stripped off most of his clothes, and got out his stone axe to chop the tree. The lad then called on his elder brother, who hurried to the place. When he saw the giant, he said, “Oh, I am glad you have got that boy! He has treated me shamefully. He is really my enemy. Sit down, and give me your axe. I will chop down the tree for you.” The giant gave him the axe, and sat down near the tree. The man told him to shut his eyes, for perhaps some chips might fly into them.

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He struck the tree a blow, and then with the next blow hit the giant on the head and killed him. The lad then came down the tree. As they viewed the giant’s body, they remarked, “How bad these people are, and still so foolish! It seems wonderful that they are able to do so much harm when they are so simple. They are able to kill people, and yet people can easily fool them. Let us open his head and see what is in it! Let us see what kind of brains he has!” They split the head, and a cloud of mosquitoes came out and attacked the brothers. They found that the giant had nothing but mosquitoes for brains, and closed up the head quickly. This is why mosquitoes attack people and suck their blood. They are cannibals because they originated from the cannibal giants. Had the brothers not split open the giant’s head and let them out, possibly there would be no mosquitoes in the world now.

The hunter and the giant

A resourceful hunter encounters a four-eyed giant cannibal known for preying on people. The giant attempts to deceive the hunter by exchanging sabotaged bows, but the hunter, anticipating this, has similarly prepared his own bow. After both bows break, a chase ensues. The hunter cleverly avoids the giant’s snares, ultimately leading the giant to inadvertently harm himself, resulting in his death.

► Themes of the story

Mythical Creatures: The giant, with his supernatural attributes and predatory nature, represents a classic mythical being.

Cunning and Deception: Both characters engage in deceptive tactics—the giant through his initial proposal and the hunter through his strategic responses.

Conflict with Nature: The hunter navigates and utilizes the natural environment, such as cliffs and tree roots, to evade and ultimately defeat the giant.

► From the same Region or People

North America
- Sub-Arctic Region
  - Tahltan Lore

Learn more about Tahltan people

There was a giant cannibal who spent nearly all his time hunting and tracking people. He could see everywhere, for he had four eyes, — two in front, and two at the back of his head. When he saw a man hunting, he would call him. These giants killed and ate many people, especially children. They snared some, shot others, and yet others they enticed in many ways, as, for instance, by luring them into their houses to see their daughters, etc.

A man was out hunting He was very fleet of foot, and a wise, resourceful, and brave man. He heard the giant calling, and went up to him. The giant asked him to come to his house; and the man answered, “No, I have a house of my own.” He said, “Well, you will come and see my daughters;” and the man answered, “No, I have a wife.”

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The giant said, “Let us exchange bows! I will give you my bow to show you that I have no intention of harming you.” His bow was partly cut through, so that, if the man tried to use it, it would break. The man was prepared for this, and had cut his own bow nearly through. They exchanged bows; and the giant at once pulled the bow to kill the man, but it broke. The man pulled the giant’s bow to shoot him, and it also snapped. He then ran away, and the giant gave chase. He ran up along the edge of a cliff to the top, down the other side, along the bottom of the cliff, and then up again. He ran the same way round and round the cliff until he had made a trail. The giant could not catch him, and became tired. He set a snare on the top of the cliff, but the man put it aside and passed on. The giant came to examine it, and, seeing it had been moved, said, “That is bad luck, my snare missed.” He set it again, and, as the man ran around, he put some large tree-roots in the snare. The giant was under the cliff watching, and had hold of the end of the noose. When he looked, and saw the roots in the noose, he thought he had caught the man. He said, “Now I have had good luck. I have caught him.” He lighted a fire, saying, “I will camp here and eat.” He made spits for cooking the meat. Now he pulled the line to bring the snared man to the fire. The roots stuck, and then flew up over the edge of the cliff and came down on the giant’s head, stunning him. When he regained consciousness, he said, “I feel hungry.” He felt all over his body, his ears, his nose, etc., but every part had feeling. At last he felt of his testicles, and they seemed to have no feeling. He cut them off and threw them into the fire to cook. They cracked and burst. He thought it was the fire that had made the noise, and said, “Oh, I shall have good luck hunting tomorrow!” [When the fire gives a certain kind of crack, the Indians say they will shoot game on the morrow.] He felt weak, and said, “I feel sleepy. I’ll have a nap before I eat.” He was dying, and thought he was sleepy. Thus he died.